FILE – In this Feb. 22, 2010 file photo, Frontier Airlines jetliners sit stacked up at gates along the A concourse at Denver International Airport. Passengers flying Frontier Airlines will now have to pay extra to place carry-on bags in overhead bins or for advance seat assignments. The move comes as the Denver-based airline transforms itself into a fee-dependent airline, similar to Spirit Airlines or Allegiant Air—the only other U.S. carriers to charge such fees. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski, File)

Frontier Airlines’ ramp workers are attempting to unionize for the first time after years of uncertainty, a pillaging of benefits and a dramatic downsizing of their ranks.

The ramp workers, fueled by the momentum of new ownership under Indigo Partners LLC and the fear that the airline’s new frugal business model will threaten their jobs, are beginning to organize and speak out.

“I think without representation we will continue to lose benefits,” said Lori Snyder, a Frontier ramp worker for nearly seven years.

The National Mediation Board has approved Transport Workers Union of America’s request for an election that would put Frontier’s Denver ramp workers under its umbrella.

Ballots were mailed Wednesday to 400 employees who perform such work as baggage handling and guiding aircraft at the gates. Votes will be tabulated July 10.

When Republic Airways Holdings bought the Denver-based carrier out of bankruptcy in 2009, the company immediately peeled away many benefits for the ramp employees. In addition to an automatic 10 percent pay cut, the workers lost their 401(k) match, a week of paid vacation, all stock and their employee-personal day. The company also capped sick-day accrual.

“I lose about $4,500 a year without those benefits, and the fact that it doubled my insurance cost,” said Ron Westover, a Frontier ramp worker for nearly 14 years.

TWU represents Southwest Airlines’ ramp workers, and comparisons often are drawn between the two carriers.

Sam Lucio was making $10.18 an hour as a Frontier ramp worker in 2007. Just five years later, he had reached only $11.15 an hour. When he looks across the tarmac at his former co-worker Jason Smith, who now works for Southwest, he sees a different story.

After just three years, Smith is making $13.33 an hour. By his fourth year at Southwest, he will be earning $15.09 an hour, 3 cents an hour less than his wage after 11 years at Frontier.

Lucio works 65 hours a week at Frontier to support his wife and two kids, with a third child on the way.

“We see a lot of young employees because you can’t afford to have a family,” he said.

The airline did not return The Denver Post’s request for comment Thursday.

Recently, however, Frontier’s management has said it plans to reinstate many employee benefits.

But management is resistent to organizing efforts. In a letter sent to Frontier employees Thursday, the airline’s vice president of customer service, Jan Fogelberg, urged the ramp workers to vote no.

“At Frontier, we have always had a culture of working together to reach a win-win with a focus on the customer,” Fogelberg wrote. “A union will bring another player to the field that will change the dynamic. …
If there are things we, as a team, want to do or change, then let’s talk directly and get it done.”

Fogelberg wrote on: “There is a new ownership group and leadership at Frontier since the spin off from Republic that is generating excitement and a positive future outlook. For the first time in a number of years, we have a plan and a direction that will make us truly successful.”

But Westover and others argue they’ve waited long enough.

“The people who are against this union are saying, ‘Let’s give them a chance,’ ” he said, “but we’ve been waiting for four or five years already.”

Kristen Leigh Painter was a former business reporter who focused on airlines and aerospace coverage. She joined The Post in September 2011 and departed for the Minneapolis Star-Tribune in August 2014. She graduated from the University of Colorado Boulder with a master's in journalism after earning a bachelor's in history from the University of Wisconsin La Crosse.

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